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Photo by Shawn Bowles
Mountain Brook running back Cole Gamble (19) breaks free and heads towards the end zone during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Captains for Mountain Brook wide receiver Clark Sanderson (21) , linebacker Luke Maddox (22) , offensive lineman William Courtenay (57) and defensive lineman Billy Hoyt (97) during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook band performs during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Photo by Shawn Bowles
The Spartans storm the field during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook linebacker Trent Wright (33) crushes Gadsden City quarterback during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook quarterback John Colvin (12) rushes for a touchdown during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook quarterback John Colvin (12) celebrates a touchdown during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Photo by Shawn Bowles
Mountain Brook band performs during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook linebacker Billy Radney (48) gets the sack during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook linebacker Trent Wright (33) contains a Titan during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook band cheers during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook running back Cole Gamble (19) finds a big hole to run through during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook quarterback John Cooper (17) during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook defensive lineman Sam Hunt (44) pressures the quarterback during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Photo by Shawn Bowles
Mountain Brook band performs during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Photo by Shawn Bowles
Mountain Brook running back Cole Gamble (19) around end during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook wide receiver Clark Sanderson (21) during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook wide receiver Rob Gillespie (15) during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Photo by Shawn Bowles
Mountain Brook band performs during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook cheerleaders during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook head coach Chris Yeager (HC) during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Photo by Shawn Bowles
Gadsden City running back TJ Worthy (5) finds the end zone for a late touchdown during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Mountain Brook quarterback John Cooper (17) during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
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Photo by Shawn Bowles
Mountain Brook running back Cole Gamble (19) leaps into the end zone for a touchdown during a football game between Mountain Brook and Gadsden City at Titan Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Gadsden, Ala. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
GADSDEN – Mountain Brook High School traveled to Gadsden City on Friday night and came away with a 37-6 victory over the Titans to advance to the Class 6A quarterfinals.
The Spartans (10-2) relied on their trusted ground game for all of their touchdowns and the vast majority of their offensive yards. Cole Gamble led the way with 271 rushing yards on 30 carries, adding a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to open the floodgates.
“I think Cole played hard, I really thought our defense played hard, and I was really proud of how John Cooper punted the ball and Jack Heaps kicked the ball,” head coach Chris Yeager said of his team.
Heaps took over for starting kicker Reed Harradine after Harradine suffered an injury late in the season and was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra points against the Titans.
The first quarter was a defensive battle, though, as the Spartans’ only points that quarter came on a bad snap by Gadsden City (8-5), netting two points as the ball sailed through the back of the end zone. The Titans’ defense was in the Spartans’ backfield early and often, limiting the usually high-powered ground game at first.
“This time of year is really about improving your fundamentals, and we did not execute our fundamentals well on offense tonight,” Yeager said. “We’ve got some clean-up to do on the offensive line.”
Gamble’s longest run of the night, and the longest play for either team, came with 5:34 left in the third quarter, when he rumbled for 79 yards on Mountain Brook’s first play of the third quarter.
Quarterback John Colvin added a 15-yard scoring run of his own in the third quarter. Colvin finished with 28 rushing yards himself and went 7-of-12 passing for 66 yards.
The Spartans defense played with an edge all night, limiting Gadsden City to one touchdown off of a 5-yard run by TJ Worthy toward the end of the third quarter. Mountain Brook came away with three takeaways, two of which came in the second quarter when the Titans twice threatened to score.
After Gamble turned in his second touchdown run of the evening, a 10-yarder in the middle of the second quarter, Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., son of the Alabama great and longtime Bengals corner Dre Kirkpatrick, took the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to the Mountain Brook 35-yard line. The Titans fed the ball to Kirkpatrick, a two-way player, on the drive, only for him to fumble inside the red zone. The Spartans pounced on the ball, gaining possession on the six before punting back to Gadsden City.
Again, the defense held. The Gadsden City offense, led by athletic quarterback Luke Waldrop, had the ball inside the 10 before Waldrop threw an interception to Mountain Brook’s Hampton King in the end zone with 23 seconds until halftime, resulting in a 16-0 Spartans lead at halftime.
Along with Colvin’s score and Gamble’s 79-yard gallop, the final points of the night came on a 1-yard Gamble direct snap with 7:18 left in the game. Colvin’s run was preceded by Sam Hunt’s interception that earned the Spartans starting field position in the red zone.
The Spartans will host undefeated Hartselle next Friday in the quarterfinals after the Tigers came from behind to beat Center Point.
